Notarial violations

In the case of JUDGE LILY LYDIA LAQUINDANUM vs. ATTY. NESTOR Q. QUINTANA,
En Banc, A.C. No. 7036, June 29, 2009, the Philippine Supreme Court revoked the notarial
commission of respondent Atty. Nestor Q. Quintana, disqualified him from being commissioned
as notary public for a period of two (2) years, and suspended him from the practice of law for six
(6) months effective immediately, with a warning that a repetition of a similar violation would be
dealt with even more severely.
The administrative case against Atty. Quintana stemmed from a letter addressed to the Court
filed by Executive Judge Lily Lydia A. Laquindanum of the Regional Trial Court of Midsayap,
Cotabato requesting that proper disciplinary action be imposed on him for performing notarial
functions in Midsayap, Cotabato, which is beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the
commissioning court that issued his notarial commission, and for allowing his wife to do notarial
acts in his absence.
In her letter, Judge Laquindanum alleged that pursuant to A.M. No. 03-8-02-SC, executive
judges are required to closely monitor the activities of notaries public within the territorial
bounds of their jurisdiction and to see to it that notaries public shall not extend notarial functions
beyond the limits of their authority. Hence, she wrote a letter to Atty. Quintana directing him to
stop notarizing documents within the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Court of
Midsayap, Cotabato (which is outside the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court that
issued his notarial commission for Cotabato City and the Province of Maguindanao) since certain
documents notarized by him had been reaching her office.
In its Report and Recommendation, the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) of the Supreme Court
recommended that Atty. Quintana be disqualified from being appointed as a notary public for
two (2) years; and that if his notarial commission still exists, the same should be revoked for two
(2) years. The OBC found the defenses and arguments raised by Atty. Quintana to be without
merit.
The OBC cited Section 11 of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice provides, thus:
Jurisdiction and Term A person commissioned as notary public may perform notarial acts in
any place within the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court for a period of two (2)
years commencing the first day of January of the year in which the commissioning court is made,
unless earlier revoked [or] the notary public has resigned under these Rules and the Rules of
Court.
The OBC stated that under the rule, respondent may perform his notarial acts within the
territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning Executive Judge Concha, which was in Cotabato
City and the Province of Maguindanao only. But definitely he could not extend his commission
as notary public in Midsayap or Kabacan and in any place of the province of Cotabato as he was
not commissioned thereat to do such act. Midsayap and Kabacan were not part of either Cotabato
City or Province of Maguindanao but part of the province of North Cotabato. Thus, the claim of

respondent that he could exercise his notarial commission in Midsayap, Cotabato because
Cotabato City was part of the province of Cotabato was absolutely devoid of merit.
Further, per the OBC, evidence on record also showed that there were several documents which
the respondents wife had herself notarized. Respondent justified that he could not be blamed for
the act of his wife as he did not authorize the latter to notarize documents in his absence.
According to him, he even scolded and told his wife not to do it anymore as it would affect his
profession.
The OBC cited the case of Lingan v. Calubaquib et al., Adm. Case No. 5377, June 15, 2006
where the Court held, thus:
A notary public is personally accountable for all entries in his notarial register; He cannot
relieve himself of this responsibility by passing the buck to (his) secretaries
The OBC stated that a person who is commissioned as a notary public takes full responsibility
for all the entries in his notarial register. Respondent cannot take refuge claiming that it was his
wifes act and that he did not authorize his wife to notarize documents. He is personally
accountable for the activities in his office as well as the acts of his personnel including his wife,
who acts as his secretary.
The OBC stressed further that Sec. 2, (b), Rule IV of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice
provides, thus[:]
A person shall not perform a notarial act if the person involved as signatory to the instrument or
document (1) is not in the notarys presence personally at the time of the notarization; and (2) is
not personally known to the notary public through competent evidence of identity as defined by
these Rules.
The Supreme Court adopted the findings of the OBC. However, it found the penalty of
suspension from the practice of law for six (6) months and revocation and suspension of Atty.
Quintana's notarial commission for two (2) years more appropriate considering the gravity and
number of his offenses.
The Court held that after a careful review of the records and evidence, there was no doubt that
Atty. Quintana violated the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice and the Code of Professional
Responsibility when he committed the following acts: (1) he notarized documents outside the
area of his commission as a notary public; (2) he performed notarial acts with an expired
commission; (3) he let his wife notarize documents in his absence; and (4) he notarized a
document where one of the signatories therein was already dead at that time.
The act of notarizing documents outside ones area of commission is not to be taken lightly, the
Court stated. Aside from being a violation of Sec. 11 of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, it
also partakes of malpractice of law and falsification. Notarizing documents with an expired
commission is a violation of the lawyers oath to obey the laws, more specifically, the 2004

Rules on Notarial Practice. Since the public is deceived into believing that he has been duly
commissioned, it also amounts to indulging in deliberate falsehood, which the lawyer's oath
proscribes. Notarizing documents without the presence of the signatory to the document is a
violation of Sec. 2(b)(1), Rule IV of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, Rule 1.01 of the Code
of Professional Responsibility, and the lawyers oath which unconditionally requires lawyers not
to do or declare any falsehood, the Court added. Finally, the Court stressed that Atty. Quintana
was personally accountable for the documents that he admitted were signed by his wife. He
cannot relieve himself of liability by passing the blame to his wife, said the Court. He is, thus,
guilty of violating Canon 9 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which requires lawyers
not to directly or indirectly assist in the unauthorized practice of law, it concluded.
The Court furthermore held that a notarial commission should not be treated as a money-making
venture. It is a privilege granted only to those who are qualified to perform duties imbued with
public interest. Notarization is not an empty, meaningless, routinary act. It is invested with
substantive public interest, such that only those who are qualified or authorized may act as
notaries public. The protection of that interest necessarily requires that those not qualified or
authorized to act must be prevented from imposing upon the public, the courts, and the
administrative offices in general. It must be underscored that notarization by a notary public
converts a private document into a public document, making that document admissible in
evidence without further proof of the authenticity thereof, the Court stated.